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This Nov. 28, 2012, file photo shows Harvey Weinstein and Meryl Streep on stage at a Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation gala at Cipriani in New York City.

Meryl Streep says she did not know Harvey Weinstein was allegedly harassing and assaulting women when they worked together.

Weinstein "needed me much more than I needed him and he made sure I didn't know," Streep said in a statement Monday. The Oscar winner said her association with him brought him credibility, which she said he used "to lure young, aspiring women into circumstances where they would be hurt."

Streep said she composed the statement in response to a since-deleted tweet from Rose McGowan, who called out Streep for working with Weinstein. McGowan has alleged that Weinstein raped her.

Streep said she's sorry McGowan sees her as an adversary because they are on the same side in the fight to eradicate the status quo power structure in Hollywood.

The Weinstein Ripple Effect

Harvey Weinstein’s ouster from the Weinstein Company in light of multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him is causing thousands of other women to speak up and speak out against powerful abusers in the workplace.